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Monday, May 25, 2015

Artist Spotlight with Artfinder CEO

Today I'm pleased to introduce an exciting segment featuring Artfinder.com, a London-based online fine art vendor selling artwork from around the world. This website has the most extensive collection of fine art, available for purchase globally including the United States.

This multi-part Artfinder collaboration will showcase 3 Artfinder artists over the course of this summer, who I've personally selected for the Interiors by Jacquin Artist Spotlight Series. Today I'm interviewing two great members of the Artfinder team: Jonas Almgren, CEO and Liz Hipkins.

Jacquin: Hi Jonas! I'm excited about our collaboration and the opportunity to learn more about you and the Artfinder team. What's your favorite thing about your job?

Jonas:Nothing beats hearing back from
artists, to hear first hand what our efforts accomplish. It's made me truly
understand the challenges most artists face, and what a dramatic difference it
can make for an artists when their art is validated through a sale. Also,
customer reviews can be great, as this one we recently received from a customer
in Australia:

Jacquin:Show us your
favorite contemporary work of art right now from Artfinder!

Jonas: There are so many great artworks on
Artfinder, and I see probably a dozen new works every day that I find
exceptional. I really like when an artwork surprises me, forces me to see
something with new eyes, though exceptional technique can be very exciting too.

Recently I've been paying attention to the abstracts by Richard Kuhn, a German
artists that's been with Artfinder for quite a while. He started out selling
brilliant evocative portraits, but has recently ventured into large abstracts,
that I find very compelling.

Jonas: As with all startups, it's about
building up something from nothing. When we started out, we had a handful of
artists and a few hundred artworks. Now we are proud to say that thousands
of artists have sold work through Artfinder, and the Artfinder Community
includes artists from 95 countries.

Gradually we hope to eliminate the "starving
artist" syndrome as we enable more artists to live from selling art, while
helping buyers find unique artworks that they often can't find anywhere else.

Jacquin: What does Artfinder have in store for the future?

Jonas: We're planning a massive US
expansion this year, but we're also launching several new product features
that, among other things, we will support interior decorators and
architects with key tools to enhance their project processes. We believe
there are plenty of opportunities working directly with businesses and
retailers, and this year we intend to give them our full attention.

An Interview with Liz Hipkins, Artfinder Community & Events Manager

Jacquin: How did you
train for you job with Artfinder?

Liz:Prior
to working at Artfinder, I worked for 5 years at the Victoria and Albert Museum
in London, building out the Membership community and working on a very varied
program of events. Before this, my background was actually in music, studying
it at university and working for an orchestra, basically submerging myself in
the London Arts scene as much as physically possible!

Jacquin: How did you come
to be interested in art or fine art, specifically?

Liz: It is hard to say, my parents have always had a
huge interest in culture, visiting historic places of interest, virtually every
weekend. I grew up in a very rural part of England and so it wasn’t really that
easy to pop to galleries and exhibitions, but I always remember coming on a
trip to London as a child and going to the National Gallery for the first time
and being surrounded by amazing and admittedly very large artworks! Since then
I have always been interested in art and the wider art scene.

Jacquin: How does Artfinder
promote its amazing artist?

Liz: We promote our artists through our community events. We host Artfinder
Pop-Ups which are still in there early days, but these involve displaying physical
art by local Artfinder artists, alongside an interactive experience using touch
screens which enable visitors to curate their own exhibitions to promote on to
the venue walls.

By hosting Pop-Ups, it enables Artfinder artists from all over the
world to have their work included and enables us to promote thousands of
artists, rather than just been limited by the size of the space.

Liz:This
is a work called ‘Baron Samedi’ by artist Jayne Evans,
an artist based in the UK (see below). This work was actually chosen by my boyfriend who
saw it and instantly liked it, plus he has always been a fan of the Bond
series. It is an acrylic painting, which came framed, as it includes a striking
red color again white and black, I wasn’t sure where we would hang it, but as
it turned out it looks fantastic against our open brick fireplace, it provides
a lovely contrast to look at. (see Liz's at-home artwork below)

There are several different layers to the work. (see above) Jayne Evans actually took part in an artist demonstration at a recent Artfinder pop-up and it was
quite incredible watching her processes and the painting evolve over the time. She is also a lovely artist to speak with!

Jacquin: Where do you go
for inspiration in London?

Liz: We
are very lucky in London that inspiration isn’t hard to find, with wonderful
architecture and art around every corner. I love walking along the river on the
Southbank, especially at night when all of the lights are out in full. With new
buildings going up every month, the city landscape is every evolving which I
just love. (see below)

Tips for Selecting Artwork for Your Home:

(1) First and foremost you
need to look for art that's inspirational and at some level reflects the
personality of the owner. With over
100,000 unique artworks to choose from, it's very much like a matching process.
The art you will fall in love with is
out there, you just need to find it. It should be art you're happy to live
with.

(2) Secondly, you need to
consider the interaction with the environment. What impact do you want the art to have on the
room where it is placed? Do you want to
add colour, do you want to create sense of peace, maybe add some energy, or a
fresh feeling of open water or green overgrowth? It's easy to underestimate the tremendous
impact art can have on a room, especially if the art is large. Take advantage of it!

(3) Lastly, consider the
practical aspects. How do you want to
hang it? Do you want it framed, or perhaps
a ready to hang unframed artwork with painted sides? If it's a photography work, be careful with
direct sunlight, as it will bleach the colours over time. If you cover it with UV protective glass,
consider how the glass will reflect light (but from lighting, and from
windows).

If you're looking to add artwork to your space, Artfinder is THE place to search. Honestly the best collection of original fine art I've seen available for sale on the Internet and it's so accessible. Stay tuned as I showcase three Artfinder artists this Summer personally selected by me, Jacquin! In the meantime, take a look at my earlier feature on Artfinder artist Sal Jones.